New Plans for the New Year

The time is upon us for reflections and resolutions. I'll spare you the reflections and move onto some of my own plans for 2012...at least in the world of literature and such.

I was rather surprised with what I was able to finish reading in 2011. Allow me to apologize, make way for a small reflection. Books that I actually finished in 2011 were: (links to these books can be found on my page Books and Stuff)

• Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God by Francis Chan
• Think: The Life of the Mind and The Love of God by John Piper
• The Shaping of a Christian Family by Elisabeth Elliot
• Loving the Little Years: Motherhood in the Trenches by Rachel Jankovic
• Lies Homeschooling Moms Believe by Todd Wilson
• The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace
• The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson

And to add to my reading was much time, although not enough, spent in God's Word and time, probably too much, spent reading numerous blogs and articles. Nate laughed at me when I told him I was going to make a small goal of four books for the upcoming year. I suppose he thinks my goal is a bit puny. I say, at least I know it's doable.

My plan is to finish the book I'm currently reading, Give Them Grace by Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson. I won this in a book giveaway and will probably be coming back to say more about it. It is definitely making me rethink our methods in parenting and how we view the gospel as a whole in our home.

My three I plan to add to this extensive list of four are:

• The Hiding Place by Corrie Tin Boom I've attempted to read several times and just haven't been able to finish.
• Charismatic Chaos by John MacArthur This has been on my list for awhile. I have some family that is interested in the charismatic movement and really want to see how he deals with this movement.
• And number four is something by Francis Shaeffer. I haven't decided yet. Maybe The Christian Manifesto? or How Should We Then Live?

I also plan on continuing to look through Large Family Logistics. While we are not technically a "large family," I love some of the ideas she shares in the book.

And of course, I can't leave out a Bible Reading Plan. I found the perfect plan that will give me a few minutes after each meal to spend reading from three different sections of the Bible, starting in Genesis, Job, and Matthew. Nate and I thought this would be a good way to read through the Bible in a year to the little ones, too! I also hope to spend more devoted time to studying Proverbs. A few weeks back I started studying Proverbs alongside Matthew Henry's Commentary. I have taken a break but really hope to resume that in depth reading as well on my own.

For the wee ones, I plan to continue Catechisms for Young Children and doing scripture memory. Earlier this month I began using this system for scripture memory. It's still early on using it so we haven't got an excellent feel for how this system will work over time.

And we have finally decided on a reading curriculum! After looking at three different curriculums, we have decided to use Reading Made Easy. I'll keep you updated on my thoughts on this system and how it works as we go along. Reading lessons will be short and simple. We will also continue reading good, twaddle-free books and spending lots of time outside when the weather is just right for exploring!

So, do you have reading plans this year?

You said WHAT to my child?!

Dear “Girl That May or May Not Still Work at Food City,”

Our encounter last night was a first for me. I was quite taken back by what you said. Those who knew me before will know how He has changed me by how I responded to you. They know what the old me would have done.

I really just grinned and nodded as you kept prodding my children about Christmas. I nodded in assurance to my shy little girl as you kept asking her about Santa and all the wonderful gifts he will be bringing her. See, you don’t know that she has reached the age where she is at the same time in awe and yet, confused about this strange man who Mommy says is not real. You didn’t know she was conflicted on how to answer you. But even though you didn’t know all these things, you shouldn’t have said what you did. When I politely told you we don’t do Santa at our house, you should have said what everyone else does, “Oh, OK.” But you didn’t, you chose to ask my daughter why not. And when she said, “He isn’t real,” you placed yourself in a bad situation with your response. You told my daughter I was a liar. That’s what you said to her when you looked her in the eye and said, “Oh yes he is!”

And that is when I gently placed my hand on her back and walked away.

You see, we serve a King who I believe is sickened by this charade called Santa Claus. Because my King, is the only one who knows who has been bad or good… (There is none good, no not one. Romans 3:10) We teach our children it is the righteousness of Another that makes them good before God. This King doesn’t think it is OK to lie. Ever. Even if it is just fun and harmless. He is Holy …always…so do you really think He says, “Ah, they’re just having fun, it's Ok to lie this time.” This King doesn’t like to share His glory with anyone or anything else…probably because nothing could possibly hold a candle to His greatness. So, we serve another God and not the god of Santa Claus and mammon that this holiday is so smothered in.

I would appreciate it, that you not tell my child I’m a liar. I’m teaching her to believe in something much bigger than a make believe character that will one day be nothing to her. I’m teaching her to believe in a Sovereign God, the Maker of all things, and the only One she will ever give thanks to for the many blessings and gifts she receives…the one that doesn’t turn out to be a phony. See, because sometimes our faith can be kind of hard to hold on to, we want her to know that her parents never lied to her and we wouldn’t tell her about something we don’t have one hundred percent faith in.

So, please, leave the parenting up to the parents. And think before you speak.

Thank you,
A Mom Determined to Tell the Truth

I must say, over the past eight years, I’ve softened quiet a bit on my views on Christmas. My husband and I have went from completely ignoring it to attempting to figure out what traditions we want to adopt in our own family during this time of year. We know there is a way to do this that is Christ honoring and we feel rest about Paul’s teachings on Christian freedom. At the same time, much of this holiday makes me angry and confused. I don’t understand how Christians continue to adopt such secular ways of celebration. I pray that there would be a way to reform the holiday…even if it is just one family at a time. I pray that more families would evaluate why they do what they do and see how it is honoring to God. I especially pray this year that people will be spending the Lord’s Day in church because it is a day God has commanded us to observe; Christmas is not; yet, numbers of Christians will remain home and forget the Lord on the one day He has given us to set aside to worship Him.

So, Here is wishing you and yours…a Happy…or a Merry…I don’t know…I think Lily says, “make sure to tell them, ‘Happy Christmas!’”

(Note: I still haven’t brought myself to verbally say, “Merry Christmas” to someone…so that was a little awkward. Give me a break, it's been EIGHT YEARS since I've even considered celebrating the day. It's bound to be awkward!)

Busy Seasons

Wow. It has been almost two months since I've been here. Life is busy even when you're not busy with the season. I want to write. I just can't take the time. Little hands and little hearts need me more than this space of mine. So, where is my mind?

On the little boy with the black eye and the pink hat...who is now potty trained!

And the little girl who can't get enough of her new doll and makes me smile as I see her reach out her hand to help her Momma every day.

On my dear husband who worked very hard on Saturday to help my effort to tidy and purge our house of unneeded and an unloved stuff. I love my new shelves!

Do these pics really need a caption?

And on flowers picked especially for me on a warm day in December.


My mind has been on how I wish everyone could keep this image in their mind.

My mind has been on sin and "if God hasn’t specifically called something a sin, I shouldn’t." How I can't help but wander if I've crossed this line...

My mind has been on how awesome God is that He brings His flock together to send up prayers from all over for the same family who most of us have never even met.

My mind is a bit all over...even with you at times.

Until next time...whenever that may be.

My Poor Attempt at BLW

For some reason or another...I found myself intrigued by baby led weaning. It started with my desire to make my own baby food and asking some advice from Kimberly. The more I read about baby led weaning the more I loved the idea and knew this was the way for me.

I navigated the Wholesome Babyfood website and wrote down recipes and ideas about a month prior to when I planned to begin solids. With my other two, I was eager to start solids at 4 months. With the first the eagerness was the fact that every "first" was a momentous occasion I was awaiting. With the second, it was the mere hope that food might make this mad, crazy baby sleep! So, holding off until after 6 months to start my baby on solids was a totally new thing. And so was making my own baby food...that ended up not actually being baby food per se but just table food.. So, yeah! I get to skip making baby food purees! (For that to make sense...read more on BLW.)

As that six month mark passed and the seventh month approached, I decided to adventure out into the world of solids with Anna. And much to my chagrin, BLW and my personality do not mesh well. And Anna refuses to eat solids right now. I attempted on vacation to let her play with a banana. Oh dear...the mess that followed deemed this attempt not appropriate for vacation. I decided to wait until we got home.

At this point, I threw some oats in the blender and cooked them and mashed up some banana for her to try in her high chair. Do you know how hard it is for a perfectionistic, neat freak NOT to use a spoon and to allow the baby to actually make a mess?! This was hard. And she could care less about eating it.



I decided to attempt the spoon with bananas, oatmeal, and avocado. She is not having it. And Anna and I agree...this is what we think about BLW. (Please note...we were coming from the beach. We normally don't travel with our entire house in the van.)

Vacation 2011

I have finally moved my pictures from our trip to Myrtle Beach over to the computer. Now the question is...how do I choose out of 400 photos which ones to share? And then...after that...what do I do with these 400 photos? What do you do with all your pictures?

Here are a few of my favorites! Enjoy.

Beauty

Looking for Mommy

Not so sure about this.

Curious

She likes the beach!

The cousins have arrived!

Love this picture!

Nana doing what she does best!

Nana and Anna

Sweet Hanna

... And Halli (I'm relying on my four year old to tell me which one is which.)

How I spent my mornings.

My sweet blessings

Please tell me how to get 5 kids 6 and under to all smile at the same time?

Silly J.J.

Our view every morning...

Securing a Quiet Growing Time

A mother's chief responsibility for the first six years is to secure for her children "Quiet growing time--and free growing time--the freedom of real play (not lessons that look like play) and of ordering one's own life.”

 “The games mother and baby play together naturally, without any special training or effort, are exactly what a baby needs to develop properly- at least to age 2.”

"Tommy should be free to do what he likes with his limbs and his mind through all the hours of the day when he is not sitting up nicely at meals. He should run and jump, leap and tumble, lie on his face watching a worm, or on his back watching the bees.... nature will look after him and give him promptings of desire to know many things, and somebody must tell as he wants to know; and to do many things, and somebody should be handy just to put him in the way; and to be many things, naughty and good, and somebody should give direction."

"...Health, strength, and agility, bright eyes, and alert movements, come of a free life, out-of-doors, if it may be, and as for habits, there is no habit or power so useful to man or woman as that of personal initiative. The resourcefulness which will enable a family of children to invent their own games and occupations through the length of a summer's day is worth more in after life than a good deal of knowledge about cubes and hexagons, and this comes, not of continual intervention on the mother's part, but of much masterly inactivity."

All quotes can be found in Charlotte Mason's Home Education, Volume 1.

Boasting Homeschoolers

Today I met that mom. That homeschooling mom I hope I never come off to be. To be fair though, she wasn’t actually the mom, she was the mom’s “assistant.” Yeah. I know. Anyways. I originally thought the lady was either grandma or just an older mom with still some little ones in the nest.

While waiting for our little ones to finish up a make-up class in gymnastics, we went about small talk as all moms do during this time. Honestly, I started this whole thing. If I could only go back and hit “rewind.” I noticed a girl of about ten doing some copy work beside me. Being that it was ten in the morning, I could only assume that she was homeschooled. The four other children surrounding this lady only reinforced that this family was probably homeschooled. (Isn’t it funny how we fall prey to stereotypes?)

So I asked, “Are you homeschooled?” And here begins the cat and mouse chase. Or could have anyways. This time, I decided, I’m not falling into this battle. I’m going to try to ease right on out. But she wouldn’t stop! Ahhhhh!

"She (insert Mom’s name) does so well with the children.”

“The four year old even writes the whole alphabet.”

“He’s potty-trained and he’s only two.”

“They do so good picking up they’re toys and are such a good help to their mom.”

“Yesterday me and the four-year old went out to pick beans. Because they have a garden you know. She was so excited to help.”

And on. And on. And on. I simply smiled and said, “Really.” And “that’s so good.” Friends…if I ever go on like this to you. Please slap me in the face and tell me to shut up.

Nothing has changed me more from being the competitive person I am than having children. I have even considered unschooling my children just to get away from the hoopla of the pressure placed on us by society. Having children I have learned that each and every child is different in each and every way. They all have strengths and weaknesses that are different from every other child, even the ones in their own home.

Seriously. I get so tired of the “let me one up you” nonsense that goes on between mom’s of young children. Let me preface by saying, I get tremendous support from what I like to refer to as “veteran moms.” They are so encouraging in saying that reading to them right now is enough. Read them good books and take them outside. Teach them good habits and obedience. Worry about the other stuff later…when you have to. Whether your child knows his alphabet at two or five…when they’re seven…it really doesn’t make a difference.

But just around the corner is that mom. You know her. The one who can’t wait to tell you her two-year old can count to 100, is beginning lessons in Latin, and they spend an hour a day doing creative crafts. Oh wait, and they were potty-trained at 18 months. The one who loves to make you feel…not good enough.

So, it is now time for confession, I’m going to let you in on some things. I don’t care that my 2 year old is not potty-trained. I haven’t even attempted it because I don’t want to…I’m tired. And, again, I don’t want to. My near four-year old doesn’t know how to read because I haven’t taught her to and because we spend our days doing other things…like playing and sometimes watching Dora. Gasp! Just the other day I was so impressed that Lily knew about stamps and the post office. How? Team Umizoomi taught her about it. My daughter is so cultured she can sing songs about hot-snot-sundaes and the gaseous affects of beans. And I taught them to her! Much to my chagrin, my kids laugh when they pass any kind of gas…while they’re saying “excuse me” of course. And often the only way I can get my kids to pick up their toys without their father threatening them is to tell them I'm going to suck them up in the vacuum. Actually, now I don't have to tell them that because as soon as they see the vacuum come out...they start scrambling. Even the two-year old.

In conclusion, Moms, stop bragging and competing with each other and start supporting each other. I’m not like you and much of what comes out of my children’s mouths may absolutely shock you…as it does me. Reality is, if I were a fly on the wall in your house, you, too would be embarrassed by what I saw. Be real and…